So the question boils down to: Are they owners of .com, or merely
caretakers?
An excellent question! But that is a discussion that belongs with
ICANN, not the IETF.
Nearly my reaction as well. Note, using the concept of "ownership"
has/will get quite some lawyers debating.
Some (rhetoric) questions:
If there is a caretaker, who is the owner of what is taken
care of? Under which law system?
jaap